98-242. Off-street parking requirements., Article VIII. Parking and Loading Facilities, Chapter 98. Technical Standards, Subpt. B. Land Use Regulations, Code of Ordinances, Belfast

(a)

Off-street parking space required. No use of premises shall be allowed, changed or expanded and no structure shall be constructed or enlarged unless adequate off-street parking, including handicapped parking, is provided and maintained.

(b)

Amount of parking required. An appropriate amount of off-street parking spaces, including handicapped parking spaces (reference 98-243 for these standards), shall be required for each principal and accessory use located on a parcel. The following table entitled "Schedule of Required Off-Street Parking" (hereinafter, the Schedule), shall serve as a guideline in establishing the minimum amount of parking which must be provided for a use, and also the maximum amount of parking which shall be allowed. If a specific use is not listed or is dissimilar to a use listed in the schedule, the Planning Board is authorized to determine an appropriate amount of parking.

In determining the minimum amount of parking, any fraction shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. In determining the maximum amount of parking allowed, multiply the amount of parking identified in the Schedule by 1.20.

(c)

Planning Board use of the schedule and ability to adjust amount of parking. The Planning Board may adjust the amount of parking identified in the Schedule based on factors such as the following:

1.

The Schedule identifies parking requirements for many uses. The City, however, recognizes that some uses are not listed in the Schedule. As such, the Planning Board may determine that a specific use has specific parking demands and shall consult the most current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Parking Generation manual to assist in determining the amount of parking required.

2.

The Planning Board may use information, such as the following, to allow an increase or decrease in the amount of parking identified in the Schedule:

a.

A parking demand analysis prepared by the applicant that is based on at least two comparable sites in Maine for a comparable type of business. The analysis must compare parking demands for differing days and times of week. The Board may engage the services of an engineering firm to review this analysis.

b.

Information from the ITE manual.

c.

Information from another qualified industry source, such as but not limited to information provided by a company that has identified its parking demands for comparable facilities. The Board may engage the services of an engineering firm to review this information.

The city, in granting the Planning Board the authority to adjust on-site parking requirements, recognizes that the ITE manual that is used to identify parking requirements is often based on a limited number or variety of analyses of parking demands for specific uses. For example, the parking studies listed in the ITE manual are often based on three or fewer studies, the studies are for limited periods of time, the studies are for uses in communities that may be very dissimilar to Belfast, or the studies may be very dated, 15 or more years old, as well as other concerns. Thus, the city recognizes that better data could be available through other sources to assist the Planning Board in making a good decision regarding the amount of on-site parking which it should require.

Table 98-242. Schedule of Required Off-Street Parking
Use		Unit of Measure		Number of Spaces
Residential:
Single-family and two-family (duplex)		Dwelling unit		2.0 per unit. Such units are exempt from the maximum number of parking spaces requirement.
Multi-family		Dwelling unit		2.25 per dwelling unit, except 1.5 per unit for 1 bedroom efficiency
Elderly independent housing		Dwelling unit		1.0 per unit
Congregate housing
	Independent units	Dwelling unit		1.0 per unit
	Assisted living	Living units		1.0 per 3 units
	Nursing home	Beds and employees		1 space per 6 beds and 1 space/employee maximum shift
Bed and breakfast		Dwelling unit and rooms		2 for residence and 1 per each rental room
Rooming/boarding house		Manager and rental room		2 for manager/owner and 1 for each rental room
Home occupation		Dwelling unit (residence) and equivalent use		2 for dwelling unit/resident and number of spaces required for type of home occupation proposed
Institutional
Elementary and junior high		Teachers/employees and visitor area		1 per teacher/employee and 2 per classroom
Senior high		Teachers/employees and students		1.2 per teacher/employee and 0.25 per student
College/university		Instructors/employees and student enrollment		1.2 per instructor/employee and 0.25 per student enrollment
Church		Gross floor area (gfa) or seats		1 per 75 sq. ft. gfa or 1 per 2.5 seats
Day care center		Gross floor area (gfa) or teachers/employees and student		1 per 250 sq. ft. gfa or 1.2 per teacher/employee and 1 per 4 students
Day care home		Dwelling unit/residence and students		2 for dwelling unit and 1 per 4 students
Library		Gross floor area (gfa)		1 per 250 sq. ft. gfa
Convention center, theater and similar		Gross floor area (gfa) or per number of seats		1 per 250 sq. ft. gfa or 1 for every 3 seats
Medical/Office
Hospital		Beds and employees *note offices/clinics in hospital different formula		1 space/3 beds and 1 space/employee on maximum shift
Clinic and medical/dental office		Physicians/ practitioners and employees		4 per physician and 1 per employee
Veterinary clinic		Practitioners and employees		3 per practitioner and 1 per employee
Nursing home		Refer to congregate care		Refer to congregate care
Professional office		Gross floor area or number of employees		1 space per 300 sq. ft. 1.2 space per employee
Retail/Services
Shopping center		Gross floor area
a.	Less than 30,000 sq. ft.			a.	1 space per 225 sq. ft.
b.	30,000 — 100,000 sq. ft.			b.	1 space per 200 sq. ft.
c.	Greater than 100,000 sf			c.	1 space per 175 sq. ft.
Retail store		Gross floor area
a.	Less than 20,000 sq. ft.			a.	1 space per 250 sq. ft.
b.	More than 20,000 sq. ft.			b.	1 space per 200 sq. ft.
Hardware store, lumber yard or furniture store		Gross floor area		1 space/400 sq. ft.
Grocery store/supermarket		Gross floor area		1 space per 175 sq. ft.
Convenience store		Gross floor area		1 space per 200 sq. ft.
Drug store or bank		Gross floor area
a.	Without drive-through			a.	1 per 250 sq. ft.
b.	With drive-through			b.	1 per 300 sq. ft.
Restaurant
a.	Sit-down restaurant	a.	Seats	a.	0.4 spaces per seat
b.	Fast food restaurant without drive-through	b.	Seats	b.	0.75 spaces per seat
c.	Fast food restaurant with drive-through	c.	Seats	c.	0.6 spaces per seat
Hotel/motel		Rooms
a.	Without conference facility			1.1 per room
b.	With conference facility			1.4 per room
Movie theater/performance center		Seats		0.33 spaces per seat
Bowling alley		Per lane		5 spaces per lane
Industrial
Manufacturing		Number of employees		1.2 spaces/employee for number of employees on maximum shift
Self-storage		Gross floor area		0.2 spaces per 1,000 sq. ft.